Wire (band)

Wire
Wire in 2013; left to right: Matthew Simms, Robert Grey, Colin Newman, Graham Lewis
Background information
Also known as	Wir
Origin	London, England
Genres	Post-punk art punk punk rock
Discography	Wire discography
Years active	1976–1980, 1985–1992, 1999–present
Labels	Pinkflag Mute Harvest Warner Bros. Rough Trade
Members	Colin Newman Graham Lewis Robert Grey Matthew Simms
Past members	George Gill Bruce Gilbert Margaret Fiedler McGinnis
Website	www.pinkflag.com

Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976^[1] by Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert (guitar), George Gill (lead guitar) and Robert Grey (aka Robert Gotobed; drums). They were originally associated with the punk rock scene, appearing on The Roxy London WC2 album, and were instrumental to the development of post-punk, while their debut album Pink Flag was influential for hardcore punk.^[2]

Wire are considered a definitive and highly influential art punk and post-punk band, due to their richly detailed and atmospheric sound and obscure lyrical themes.^{[citation needed]} They steadily developed from an early noise rock style to a more complex, structured sound involving increased use of guitar effects and synthesizers (1978's Chairs Missing and 1979's 154). The band gained a reputation for experimenting with song arrangements throughout their career.^[3]